Hornsby Shire Council

Attachment to Report No. PLN241/08 Page 0

Our Reference:	DA/928/2007
Contact Person:	Deborah Krzeminski
Hours:	8.30 am to 4.30 pm
Telephone:	9847 6760
Fax:	9847 6996
25 November 2008

Dear Resident

Community Consultation

Development Application for Aged or Differently Abled Persons Housing

Mount Wilga – 2A Manor Road, Hornsby

As you would be aware, Council has received a development application by Austcorp Group for a 91 unit aged or differently abled persons housing development at Mount Wilga, Hornsby. At its recent Planning Meeting, Council resolved to defer consideration of the application to allow further consultation to take place between residents and the applicant.

I am pleased to advise that last Thursday, I chaired a community consultation meeting in the company of the Deputy Mayor, Councillors Browne, Evans, Hutchence, Martin, McMurdo, Russell and Smart to facilitate further discussions concerning the proposed development (Councillors Chopra and Mills were an apology for the meeting). Reverend Neil Flower and Mr Richard Ford attended the meeting on behalf of residents, and six representatives of the applicant and Mr Phillips of Council’s Planning Division were also in attendance.

At the meeting, representatives of residents sought further consultation on issues of traffic, parking, bushfire hazard, character of the area, drainage and utility supply, density and floor space ratio, height and setbacks. Representatives of the applicant provided an explanation of the design philosophy having regard to the existing approval for a similar development on the site and the zoning of the land, which permits the development.

The consultation meeting was an opportunity for Councillors and all representatives to better understand the concerns that each party has, and provided a forum for robust debate on the merits of the proposal. Following the meeting, I have been able to provide representatives of residents with further information that was requested as a result of discussions at the meeting.

Community Consultation Page 2

Ultimately, Council has a statutory obligation to determine the development application and accordingly, the matter will be presented to a Planning Meeting on 17 December 2008. Residents will have a further opportunity to participate in the process by attending and speaking at the Planning Meeting. However, in the interim I would be happy to discuss the proposal in further detail with residents should the Residents’ Group seek to have such discussions.

I, together with my fellow Councillors, understand the considerable community interest in this application. I trust that by facilitating this additional public process, Council has provided all parties with a better understanding of the proposal in the context of the planning process.

Yours faithfully

NICK BERMAN

Mayor